


Milkshakes, Friendship, and The Plan

by kryptonianmenace



Series: Stephanie Brown, Third Robin [4]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25661794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kryptonianmenace/pseuds/kryptonianmenace
Summary: Steph Brown shows up at Tim Drake's house unannounced with a plan: they're going to get milkshakes. Only one problem: Tim doesn't know her as Steph.
Series: Stephanie Brown, Third Robin [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858975
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	Milkshakes, Friendship, and The Plan

**Author's Note:**

> AU where the Joker was never in Ethiopia, so Jason was never killed or even injured. As a result, he remained Robin, and Tim remained a civilian. When Jason stepped down from Robin, Steph stepped up.

So maybe having Batman give her Tim Drake’s address without Tim knowing wasn’t the most  _ ethical _ thing she could’ve done, but see, Stephanie Brown had a plan.

The other day, while out taking more pictures of her fighting - because he refused to stop even though literally all of Gotham’s vigilantes besides Steph kept telling him to do so and warning him how dangerous it was - Steph had asked why his parents never worried where he was while he was out following the vigilantes.

And maybe that sounded hypocritical of her, what with her sneaking out at night and fighting crime as Robin, but look. She had looked him up online and he wasn’t from the slums of Gotham like she was. Tim was from the nicer parts, closer to the suburbs. He shouldn’t be out running around Crime Alley and the like as just a civilian. He was a good kid from a good family. Steph, on the other hand, was the daughter of a criminal. She was from a family that wouldn’t notice her sneaking out. It was a reasonable question.

Tim had just shrugged and said, “Who’s going to notice enough to worry in the first place? Mrs. Mac? She’s only paid to be in the house during the day time. And Mom and Dad are barely ever home, so it’s not like they have any idea that I even sneak out.”

And that had raised some red flags in her brain. His parents were barely ever home? Only some woman named Mrs. Mac?

The more time she spent letting Tim tail her for photos - because really, it was safer to not fight him on it because he would just try to hide while still following her if she didn’t let him, and besides, he had told her he started doing this when he was six, he knew what he was doing - the more she realized that Tim was just lonely. He spent all his time behind a camera, following after vigilantes because he really had no one else to talk to.

* * *

So that brings us back to the plan.

The plan wasn’t really thought out, if she was being honest. All she knew was that it was about time she joined the ranks of vigilantes that Tim Drake knew the names of.

Only, she didn’t want to just tell him her name and be done with it. No, she wanted to hang out, and be his friend, and come up with excuses to make this lonely kid a little less lonely.

So she ends up getting his address from Batman.

She showed up after school on a Wednesday, dressed in her civvies, of course. It wouldn’t make sense to show up as Robin, after all.

Except it’s not Tim who answered the door, it was an older woman, who she guessed was probably Mrs. Mac.

Putting on her best smile, Steph beamed. “Hi! I’m Stephanie! I’m Tim’s friend from the photography club and I had a few questions for him about a new project we’re working on.”

Mrs. Mac lit up at the word ‘friend’ and ushered her into the foyer. “He’s up in his room, but I’ll go let him know you’re here. It’s lovely to meet you.”

She headed upstairs, presumably to get Tim, and a short moment later a confused-but-trying-to-hide-it Tim joined Steph in the foyer, while Mrs. Mac followed him down the stairs before heading into the kitchen to leave the two alone.

“Uh, hey,” Tim said. “What’s up?”

Steph smirked. “We’re going to go get milkshakes, is what’s up, because you need to get your scrawny butt out of the house. And then we’ll talk.”

Tim shot her an odd look. “Why?”

She winked. “Spoilers, Timmy.”

His brow furrowed briefly as he almost picked up on her hint, and then he nodded. “Let me grab my wallet and tell Mrs. Mac I’m headed out.”

* * *

“So, are you going to tell me who you are and why you showed up at my house demanding I get milkshakes with you?” Tim asked once they reached Steph’s favorite diner. It was a small, out of the way place that Jason had told her about, that served twenty different flavors of milkshakes along with their food.

Steph stuck out her hand, which was still sticky from the overflow of milkshake that had been on the cup when it was handed to her. Tim shook her hand anyway. “Stephanie Brown, the greatest person you’re ever gonna meet.”

He grinned, taking a sip of his shake. “That explains nothing, but sure.”

Laughing, Steph threw her straw wrapper at him before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. “I also go by Girl Wonder, not to be confused with Wonder Girl, though she is pretty great in her own right.”

At that, Tim choked on his shake, coughing in shock.

“I got your address from Batman,” Steph continued. “I figured it was time I told you who I was.”

Slowly getting a better hold on his breathing, Tim finally spoke. “Why now?”

Steph shrugged. “I’ve been talking with my friends in Young Justice and I realized I don’t really have any friends outside of the hero biz, besides you. And you didn’t even know my name. That wasn’t fair to you, especially considering you’ve already proven yourself trustworthy to  _ Batman, _ of all people. If I truly wanted to be your friend, I had to tell you my name, you know?”

Tim smiled. “You want to be my friend?”

She kicked him lightly under the table. “Of course, you doof.”

Tim kicked her back. “Don’t call me a doof, it was a genuine question.”

“You were the first real friend I made on my own because of this gig,” Steph said. “And yeah, I have my friends in YJ, but they’re not the same as the crazy kid who follows me around with his camera.”

“So you decided to get my address from Batman instead of just asking me to hang out?” Tim asked.

Steph shrugged. “What can I say, it was my turn to be the stalker-ish one.”

Tim laughed at that. “Well, I’m glad. It’s nice to officially meet you, Stephanie Brown.”

Steph grinned. “Likewise.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Check out my tumblr!](https://haljordanisbatman.tumblr.com/)


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